APPLICATIONS OF ISOTOPES/RADIATION IN MEDICAL

There are many applications of radiation and radioisotopes in medicine, especially for
diagnosis (identification) and therapy (treatment) of various medical conditions. One of the
applications is to provide information about the functioning of a person's specific
organs, or to treat disease. Then, in order to do a quick diagnosis of the patient’s illness,
the physicians will use the informations obtained. It is also easy to image and identify any
disorder in the function of the thyroid, heart, bones, liver and many other organs.

Then, in medical diagnostic procedures, the radioisotopes are very important.

The dynamic processes taking place in various parts of the body can be learn by the
combination with imaging devices which register the gamma rays emitted from within. In
using radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis, a radioactive dose is given to the patient and the
activity in the organ can then be studied either as a two dimensional picture or, using
tomography, as a three dimensional picture. Radioactive tracers which involve the emission
of gamma rays from within the body is used as the diagnostic techniques in nuclear
medicine. These tracers are generally short-lived isotopes linked to chemical compounds
which permit specific physiological processes to be scrutinised. They can be given by
injection, inhalation, or orally..

Besides that, a more sophisticated and precise technique which is positron

emission tomography (PET) using isotopes produced in a cyclotron. A positron-
emitting radionuclide is introduced, usually by injection, and accumulates in the target tissue.
As it decays it emits a positron, which promptly combines with a nearby electron resulting in
the simultaneous emission of two identifiable gamma rays in opposite directions. These are
detected by a PET camera and give very precise indications of their origin. PET's most
important clinical role is in oncology, with fluorine-18 as the tracer, since it has proven to be
the most accurate non-invasive method of detecting and evaluating most cancers. It is also
well used in cardiac and brain imaging.

Every organ in our bodies acts differently from a chemical point of view. Doctors and
chemists have identified a number of chemicals which are absorbed by specific organs. The
thyroid, for example, takes up iodine, whilst the brain consumes quantities of glucose. With
this knowledge, radiopharmacists are able to attach various radioisotopes to
biologically active substances. Once a radioactive form of one of these substances enters
the body, it is incorporated into the normal biological processes and excreted in the usual
ways.
 Diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals can be used to examine blood flow to the
brain, functioning of the liver, lungs, heart, or kidneys, to assess bone growth, and to
confirm other diagnostic procedures. Another important use is to predict the effects
of surgery and assess changes since treatment. The amount of the radiopharmaceutical
given to a patient is just sufficient to obtain the required information before its decay. The
radiation dose received is medically insignificant. The patient experiences no discomfort
during the test and after a short time there is no trace that the test was ever done. The non-
invasive nature of this technology, together with the ability to observe an organ functioning
from outside the body, makes this technique a powerful diagnostic tool. A radioisotope used
for diagnosis must emit gamma rays of sufficient energy to escape from the body and it must
have a half-life short enough for it to decay away soon after imaging is completed. The
radioisotope most widely used in medicine is Tc-99, employed in some 80% of all nuclear
medicine procedures. It is an isotope of the artificially-produced element technetium and it
has almost ideal characteristics for a nuclear medicine scan, such as with SPECT.

Over 30,000 patients are treated annually, generally as outpatients in this whole
world. Teletherapy is effective in the ablation of tumours rather than their removal; it is
not finely tuned. Internal radionuclide therapy is administered by planting a small radiation
source, usually a gamma or beta emitter, in the target area. Short-range radiotherapy is
known as brachytherapy, and this is becoming the main means of treatment. Iodine-131 is
commonly used to treat thyroid cancer, probably the most successful kind of cancer
treatment. It is also used to treat non-malignant thyroid disorders. Iridium-192 implants are
used especially in the head and breast. They are produced in wire form and are introduced
through a catheter to the target area. After administering the correct dose, the implant wire is
removed to shielded storage. Permanent implant seeds (40 to 100) of iodine-125 or
palladium-103 are used in brachytherapy for early stage prostate cancer.
 Lastly, multifunctioning cells can be destroy and weaken using radiation for
some medical conditions. The radioisotope that generates the radiation can be localised in
the required organ in the same way it is used for diagnosis through a radioactive element
following its usual biological path, or through the element being attached to a suitable
biological compound. In most cases, it is beta radiation which causes the destruction of the
damaged cells. This is radionuclide therapy (RNT) or radiotherapy. Short-range radiotherapy
is known as brachytherapy, and this is becoming the main means of treatment. Although
radiotherapy is less common than diagnostic use of radioactive material in medicine, it is
nevertheless widespread, important, and growing.
DISADVANTAGES OF ISOTOPE/RADIATION IN MEDICAL

It is very amazing to find out the nuclear energy is not only a good source of
electricity. Aside from the fact that it can generate electricity, it can be used by human beings
as a powerful weapon to use in defending their nation and country. However, its benefits are
not limited to that extent. It is because this energy led to the creation of nuclear medicine.
Yes, nuclear energy plays an important role in the field of medicine. In fact, it has an ability
to treat several kinds of diseases that are very harmful for humans. Nuclear medicine refers
to the latest facilities and scans that are available in several medical institutions nowadays
like computed tomography scans, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission
tomography. These modern facilities produce x-rays that can detect and treat the possible
illnesses and problems that are present in the body of a person. Many people are very
happy and contented with its benefits and advantages for medical institutions. However,
some individuals are still against its promotion due to its disadvantages.

First of all, the disadvantage of isotope in medical is it requires high costs to

operate. With regards to the industry, purchasing, setting up, operating and maintaining
some of the machines associated to nuclear medicine can be very costly. Nuclear medicine
requires huge amount of investment. Its facilities are very expensive. The prices of its
facilities are very expensive and several medical institutions won’t be able to purchase it.
Therefore, it will take several years to make its advancements visible in all of the medical
institutions in this world.

Then, it also comes with associated health risks. For those who have been
exposed too much under treatment of nuclear medicine, certain health issues can arise, with
the highest risks occurring in elderly, pregnant and young patients. In some cases, this
procedure has even made certain health issues even worse, so alternative treatment plans
are being recommended.

Besides that, it also does not offer a 100% guarantee. Though nuclear medicine
has provided some of the best medical treatment options today, it still does not serve as a
fool-proof system. After all, there has been no medical procedure promising a 100%
guarantee, yet. Physicians and healthcare providers were delighted with the introduction of
nuclear medicine, as it has made more reliable the quality of medical services provided by
health facilities all around the world. However, it also comes with a set of drawbacks that are
difficult to ignore. If you are thinking of using such a technology for the treatment of your
disease, your physician would know if it is the best option to take. Make sure to let him know
about any concerns you are having before undergoing such a treatment.
 Then, the major demerit ofi using radioisotopes in nuclear medicine is the tissues
are damaged, leading to skin burns, nausea, diseases such as leukemia and lung
cancer, this eventually leads to death. It is not advisable for pregnant patients, although
some medical institutions have protective tools to use to stop radiation from entering the
body of a patient.

If radioisotopes are exposed to a living thing in big quantities, it will have an effect on
this organisms immunity and resistance, depending on the type of radioisotope
released on to the organism. Radioisotopes also cause genetic mutation. An enzyme
can denature and disruption of protein synthesis can occur if radioisotopes are used in
excessive amounts, thus leading to the malfunctioning of an enzyme or a protein. It also
produces mild radiation. If its users are not careful, it can develop cancer in the health of
several patients.

The radioactive wastes from using radioisotopes can not simply be dumped
into any place, they need disposals that are not gonna have an effect on omitting
radiation to people or to the ozone layer or causing a green house effect. Then,
radioisotopes require nuclear reactors for production and this may not be easy to purchase
due to its expensive amount of money that it costs.

Then, allergic reactions to radiopharmaceuticals may occur but are extremely

rare and are usually mild. Nevertheless, we should inform the nuclear medicine personnel of
any allergies we may have or other problems that may have occurred during a previous
nuclear medicine exam. Injection of the radiotracer also may cause slight pain and
redness which should rapidly resolve.

Nuclear medicine procedures also can be time consuming. It can take several
hours to days for the radiotracer to accumulate in the body part of interest and imaging may
take up to several hours to perform, though in some cases, newer equipment is available
that can substantially shorten the procedure time.

The resolution of structures of the body with nuclear medicine may not be as high as
with other imaging techniques, such as CT or MRI. However, nuclear medicine scans are
more sensitive than other techniques for a variety of indications, and the functional
information gained from nuclear medicine exams is often unobtainable by other imaging
techniques.
REFERENCES

1- https://healthresearchfunding.org/pros-cons-nuclear-medicine/

2- https://healthresearchfunding.org/pros-cons-nuclear-medicine/

3- http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/non-power-nuclear-
applications/radioisotopes-research/radioisotopes-in-medicine.aspx